Note: Like Execution of Justice, the dramatic action in this play is organized to flow differently from that of other plays this semester. For one thing, Hwang has built his play around himself and quotes from the New York Times and other media sources. And like Execution of Justice this approach to the construction of a play is unique and often challenging to readers. I think the approach is generally effective. It is also suited to be examined thru Ball’s method of analysis. However, I will keep the same set of questions in tact that were asked of Execution.
1. You may identify the stasis in the play but it isn’t necessarily at the beginning of the play. Where is it and who does it involve? The stasis of the play is in New York City. David Henry Hwang finished his hit play, M. Butterfly and since then he has become the lead advocate for the Asian community in the entertainment business after pioneering in the fight against the casting of a Caucasian male as an Asian character in the play, Miss Saigon. Hwang is also looking for actors to star in his new play, Face Value.
2. Ball points out that the intrusion sometimes occurs late in the dramatic action. What is the intrusion that breaks the stasis in Execution of Justice and how is it broken? The intrusion of the play occurs later on when Hwang finds out that Marcus is acting in the lead role of the play, The King and I which also becomes a hit in Broadway. With the limelight pointed towards Marcus, he begins to use it as a platform to advocate for the Asian acting community as well as create the image of himself as an Asian American instead of a Caucasian.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? Hint: what is the heart of the play? How does the title figure in this? Marcus is the unique factor of the play because he is at the center of the irony Hwang faces after he is hired to play the role of an Asian man. After he gets his big break in the play, The King and I, he begins to advocate for Asians in general whereas Hwang finds himself shying away from being the face of advocacy for Asian actors. The FBI looks into Marcus then after he makes a donation to a campaign to support an Asian candidate, and when Hwang is called to help he once again declines. After the FBI goes for Marcus however, they go to Hwang’s father, a successful banker in San Francisco. From this, the audience can see Marcus pinpointed at the major parts of the play. Marcus being the unique factor of the play ties into the title because Marcus literally plays a "Yellow Face" just like actors in earlier times played "Black Face" by painting their skin black.
4. State the dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.) The dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play is: Will the general public ever learn about Marcus’s secret?
5. Use Hwang’s “character” to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what these particular characters wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles facing each of the lawyers. Throughout the play, Hwang mainly exhibits the conflicts concerning ‘me vs. society,’ and ‘me vs. another individual.’ In the beginning, Hwang becomes the face of the fight against color blind casting when he goes after the team behind Miss Saigon and their casting of a Caucasian actor to play an Asian role. He was going against society by taking a stand against the play when it came to the United States from the UK. Another ‘me vs. society’ conflict he has is from his own community when he decides to shy away from the FBI looking into Asian Americans who made donations to campaigns. He was even called a “fake Asian,” by his ex-girlfriend Leah because he was no longer willing to stand up for the Asian community like he did once before. When it comes to Hwang’s “me vs. another individual,” conflict, his main issue arises from Marcus, who is later found out to be nonexistent. Marcus, who at the time poses as an Asian American in order to be a part of something “bigger than him,” often annoys and somewhat haunts Hwang throughout the play. Marcus gets to Hwang because of his ongoing lie of being an Asian American when he was actually white, often making Hwang feel the irony of his mistake since he was against color blind casting when Miss Saigon came to Broadway. He also makes Hwang angry because he questions whether Hwang is a “real Asian.” Throughout the play, Hwang has to deal with seeing Marcus, the “ethnic tourist,” cruising through life becoming a successful actor and Asian activist while Hwang himself has to go back to San Francisco and work for his father after failing with Face Value and the show with Margaret Cho. His relationship with Marcus is altogether rocky after he finds out Marcus is in fact white.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Yellow Face. The most theatrical moments in Yellow Face are: the moment in which Marcus goes to speak with a group of Asian students about being an Asian actor in the U.S. when he is white, when Hwang later finds Marcus as the king in the play, the King and I, when Hwang’s father goes under investigation for laundering and espionage, and when Marcus comes out to the general public about being white and it is revealed that he doesn’t even exist by Hwang. After Hwang’s Face Value doesn’t do so well with the critics on Broadway and he finds out from Rodney, the actor he would’ve cast besides Marcus, that Marcus was white, he has to go to a meeting where a group of Asian students wish to talk to Marcus about what it’s like being an Asian American and acting as well. David does most of the talking, but Marcus able to lead the group on into believing that he is an Asian American. The moment, although widely comical, is still somewhat tense because the audience (mainly myself) finds themselves wondering is Marcus’s true identity will be outed then and there. The next theatrical moment takes place after Hwang’s project with Margaret Cho doesn’t work out, and he has since moved to help out with his father’s banking company. He learns about Marcus’s lead role in a hit play in Broadway, which leaves him stunned and annoyed in the end of act one. When Hwang’s father goes under investigation for money laundering and espionage, he not only loses his security as a company owner, but he becomes sick with cancer. Going under investigation is a theatrical moment because it brings dark irony to Hwang’s reluctance to help Marcus when the FBI was investigating him. It also reveals Hwang’s father’s loss in his “American Dream.” His father no longer had faith in the country because of what the investigation did to him. When Hwang comes out to the general public, it is a comical moment in the play until Hwang inserts himself as the author of the play, (Yellow Face) and incorporates the point in which Marcus is revealed as a made up character, an illustration of the idea the “American Dream”of being whoever you wanted to be and the United States being your platform of success in the life that came with living in the country.
1. You may identify the stasis in the play but it isn’t necessarily at the beginning of the play. Where is it and who does it involve?
The stasis of the play is in New York City. David Henry Hwang finished his hit play, M. Butterfly and since then he has become the lead advocate for the Asian community in the entertainment business after pioneering in the fight against the casting of a Caucasian male as an Asian character in the play, Miss Saigon. Hwang is also looking for actors to star in his new play, Face Value.
2. Ball points out that the intrusion sometimes occurs late in the dramatic action. What is the intrusion that breaks the stasis in Execution of Justice and how is it broken?
The intrusion of the play occurs later on when Hwang finds out that Marcus is acting in the lead role of the play, The King and I which also becomes a hit in Broadway. With the limelight pointed towards Marcus, he begins to use it as a platform to advocate for the Asian acting community as well as create the image of himself as an Asian American instead of a Caucasian.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor that is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? Hint: what is the heart of the play? How does the title figure in this?
Marcus is the unique factor of the play because he is at the center of the irony Hwang faces after he is hired to play the role of an Asian man. After he gets his big break in the play, The King and I, he begins to advocate for Asians in general whereas Hwang finds himself shying away from being the face of advocacy for Asian actors. The FBI looks into Marcus then after he makes a donation to a campaign to support an Asian candidate, and when Hwang is called to help he once again declines. After the FBI goes for Marcus however, they go to Hwang’s father, a successful banker in San Francisco. From this, the audience can see Marcus pinpointed at the major parts of the play. Marcus being the unique factor of the play ties into the title because Marcus literally plays a "Yellow Face" just like actors in earlier times played "Black Face" by painting their skin black.
4. State the dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The dramatic question that must be answered by the end of the play is: Will the general public ever learn about Marcus’s secret?
5. Use Hwang’s “character” to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what these particular characters wants. The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles facing each of the lawyers.
Throughout the play, Hwang mainly exhibits the conflicts concerning ‘me vs. society,’ and ‘me vs. another individual.’ In the beginning, Hwang becomes the face of the fight against color blind casting when he goes after the team behind Miss Saigon and their casting of a Caucasian actor to play an Asian role. He was going against society by taking a stand against the play when it came to the United States from the UK. Another ‘me vs. society’ conflict he has is from his own community when he decides to shy away from the FBI looking into Asian Americans who made donations to campaigns. He was even called a “fake Asian,” by his ex-girlfriend Leah because he was no longer willing to stand up for the Asian community like he did once before. When it comes to Hwang’s “me vs. another individual,” conflict, his main issue arises from Marcus, who is later found out to be nonexistent. Marcus, who at the time poses as an Asian American in order to be a part of something “bigger than him,” often annoys and somewhat haunts Hwang throughout the play. Marcus gets to Hwang because of his ongoing lie of being an Asian American when he was actually white, often making Hwang feel the irony of his mistake since he was against color blind casting when Miss Saigon came to Broadway. He also makes Hwang angry because he questions whether Hwang is a “real Asian.” Throughout the play, Hwang has to deal with seeing Marcus, the “ethnic tourist,” cruising through life becoming a successful actor and Asian activist while Hwang himself has to go back to San Francisco and work for his father after failing with Face Value and the show with Margaret Cho. His relationship with Marcus is altogether rocky after he finds out Marcus is in fact white.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Yellow Face.
The most theatrical moments in Yellow Face are: the moment in which Marcus goes to speak with a group of Asian students about being an Asian actor in the U.S. when he is white, when Hwang later finds Marcus as the king in the play, the King and I, when Hwang’s father goes under investigation for laundering and espionage, and when Marcus comes out to the general public about being white and it is revealed that he doesn’t even exist by Hwang. After Hwang’s Face Value doesn’t do so well with the critics on Broadway and he finds out from Rodney, the actor he would’ve cast besides Marcus, that Marcus was white, he has to go to a meeting where a group of Asian students wish to talk to Marcus about what it’s like being an Asian American and acting as well. David does most of the talking, but Marcus able to lead the group on into believing that he is an Asian American. The moment, although widely comical, is still somewhat tense because the audience (mainly myself) finds themselves wondering is Marcus’s true identity will be outed then and there. The next theatrical moment takes place after Hwang’s project with Margaret Cho doesn’t work out, and he has since moved to help out with his father’s banking company. He learns about Marcus’s lead role in a hit play in Broadway, which leaves him stunned and annoyed in the end of act one. When Hwang’s father goes under investigation for money laundering and espionage, he not only loses his security as a company owner, but he becomes sick with cancer. Going under investigation is a theatrical moment because it brings dark irony to Hwang’s reluctance to help Marcus when the FBI was investigating him. It also reveals Hwang’s father’s loss in his “American Dream.” His father no longer had faith in the country because of what the investigation did to him. When Hwang comes out to the general public, it is a comical moment in the play until Hwang inserts himself as the author of the play, (Yellow Face) and incorporates the point in which Marcus is revealed as a made up character, an illustration of the idea the “American Dream”of being whoever you wanted to be and the United States being your platform of success in the life that came with living in the country.